American Radio Relay League Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH OUR CORPORATION IS FORMED ARE THE FOLLOWING: THE PROMOTION OF INTEREST IN AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNICATION AND EXPERIMENTATION; THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AMATEUR RADIO NETWORKS TO PROVIDE ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS IN THE EVENT OF DISASTERS OR OTHER EMERGENCIES; THE FURTHERANCE OF PUBLIC WELFARE; THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE RADIO ART; THE FOSTERING AND PROMOTION OF NON-COMMERCIAL INTERCOMMUNICATION BY ELECTRONIC MEANS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD; THE FOSTERING OF EDUCATION IN THE FIELD OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION; THE PROMOTION AND CONDUCT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TO FURTHER THE DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION; THE DISSEMINATION OF TECHNICAL, EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION RELATING TO ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION; AND THE PRINTING AND PUBLISHING OF DOCUMENTS, BOOKS, MAGAZINES, NEWS LETTERS AND PAMPHLETS NECESSARY OR INCIDENTAL TO ANY OF THE ABOVE PURPOSES.
- Income
- $17.2 million
- Spending
- $16.6 million
- Spent on programs
- 75%
- Reserves
- 14.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 48%
- Employees
- 95
- Volunteers
- 55,084
- Highest pay
- $377,405, ceo/secretary
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 72% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 14.9 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 34% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 3% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 20% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1575% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 14 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 34% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2515 of 15 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $9.6 million spent. PROMOTION OF PUBLIC INTEREST IN AND EXPERIMENTATION WITH AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNICATIONS, ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS AND EXPERTISE AMONG MEMBERS AND VARIOUS OTHER MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMS.
- $1.5 million spent. QST: MONTHLY PERIODICAL FOR ARRL MEMBERS (CIRCULATION APPRX. 35,862 PRINT, 129,838 DIGITAL) TO DELIVER NEWS AND INFORMATION RELATED TO AMATEUR RADIO INCLUDING PRODUCT REVIEWS AND EDITORIAL CONTENT. APPROXIMATELY 136 COPIES MONTHLY ARE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH WHOLESALERS.
- $986,150 spent. ADVOCACY: PROMOTE THE USE OF AMATEUR RADIO, ESPECIALLY AS EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION IN TIME OF DISASTER. MONITOR FCC REGULATIONS IN REGARDS TO AMATEUR RADIO ON BEHALF OF MEMBERS. MONITOR LEGISLATION AS IT RELATES TO AMATEUR RADIO TO KEEP MEMBERS INFORMED OF IMPORTANT CHANGES.
- $471,009 spent. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES: PROVIDE TECHNICAL INFORMATION FOR THE ORGANIZATION'S REGULATORY EFFORTS, PRODUCT REVIEW TESTING AND PROVIDE TECHNOLOGICAL SUPPORT TO MEMBERS.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 1931.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.